Monday, December 21, 2015

We’re thrilled to be talking to Xandra Carrick from Joshua
Graham’s LATENT IMAGE. It is
a pleasure to have her with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Xandra. How old are you and
what do you do for a living?

A lady never tells her age, you shouldn’t ask that. (Laughs)
Seriously, I don’t mind. I’m about to turn 30, though sometimes I feel like 17
going on 50.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable
features?

Most people can’t tell by my last name (Carrick), and by my
face, but I’m half Vietnamese. I’ve been told though, that it’s my eyes that are
the most distinguished. They don’t seem unusual, but someone once put it like
this: “It’s the way you look at me…like you can see into my soul. Comforting
and unsettling at the same time.

What would I love the most about you?

I’m loyal, I’ve got a reasonably good sense of humor (shut
up, Wade), and I can probably make you cry when I play the cello. Okay, the
truth is, I have no idea what you’d love about me. That’s just a list my mom
gave me when I was a teenager.

What would I hate the most about you?

I’m strong-willed. Some might call it stubborn. I call it
persistent.

Where do you go when you are angry?

Anywhere I can be away from, or within (verbal) striking
distance of the cause of my ire. Just depends on the situation.

What makes you laugh out loud?

Donald Trump. Then I get annoyed.

What is in your refrigerator right now?

I plead the 5th.

What is your most treasured possession?

My dad’s vintage Graflex camera. He used it as an embedded
photojournalist in the Vietnam War and gave it to me. It changed my life.
Literally.

What is your greatest fear?

Not being able to protect my loved ones. Sometimes, no
matter how hard you try, the circumstances just can’t be stopped. Nothing
frightens me more than losing that sense of security. I’m working through this
now, and feel hopeful that I’ll find the strength to overcome this.

Do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

Josh has a pretty good handle on who I am. But he doesn’t
know everything. Not yet, anyway. I think he’s trying to be objective, but
there are still things about me that I don’t know myself. He’s a trustworthy
guy, though. I think we’ll discover more over time.

If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what
would that be?

I’m going to skip over the whole body image thing. I’m
pretty fit as it is, but I’d really like to be physically stronger. Someone
once tried to kill me, did you know? He forced me under water and tried to
strangle me. He was so powerful, I couldn’t even move under his grip. I have
never felt so helpless and powerless than I did at that moment. Thank God, I
managed to fight back and escape. But I never want to be a victim again. I need
to be strong enough to defend myself against anyone.

Are you a loner or do you prefer to surround yourself with
friends?

Definitely a loner. Don’t get me wrong. I have some good
friends with whom I spend time regularly. I’m just not the party/crowd type.
Give me hours of good quality conversation, watching movies, or just being
quiet together any day.

Someone is secretly in love with you.Who is it and how do you feel about that?

(Taking an emotional pause)….

I’m not ready for a relationship right now. I’ve always seen
myself as a one-man woman, never interested in the dating scene, etc. You know
that song by Nat King Cole? When I fall
in love, it will be forever…or I’ll never fall in love? Well, a couple of
years ago, I met that man. His name was Kyle. While trying to help me stop a
dangerous assassin, he was killed.

I had never given my heart to anyone the way I had to Kyle.
We had plans to leave all the drama and grow old together.

No, I’m just not ready. Maybe one day, but whoever he may
be, he won’t be Kyle.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew
up?

My Dad. He can be harsh, inflexible, and super critical at
times, but he’s my hero. He’s given everything to protect me and Mom (rest her
soul) from harm—and there was plenty he shielded us from—and we never knew
about it. But he’s also an amazing photographer, and a kind man whose character
and courage I can only hope to match one day.

What is your most treasured possession?

Besides that Graflex camera, I would say it’s my cello, a 1735
Domenicus Montagnana. An anonymous benefactor purchased it for me and left
instructions for me to come pick it up at the Morel’s. I guess I’m meant to
keep playing, despite trying to give it up several times in my life.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you
do today?

Way to keep things light!I can’t decide whether or not knowing that I would die tomorrow would be
a good thing. I suppose I’d spend every moment with the people I love, being
good to them, reflecting on all we have shared, what we have appreciated. I
would want to make sure that they are well taken care of, and that I don’t
leave any burdens for them. But most of all, knowing the pain of saying goodbye
and surviving people you care about, I would want to comfort and show them
love.

About the Author

JOSHUA
GRAHAM is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Beyond
Justice, Terminus, and Darkroom, the winner of the International Book Award,
Forward National Literature Award, USA Book News Best Books Award, and host of
Thriller Radio. His award-winning novel DARKROOM hit 3 bestseller lists on
Amazon the night of its release.

CBS NEWS described DARKROOM as a book with "action, political intrigue and
well-rounded characters...a novel that thriller fans will devour."

Suspense Magazine listed BEYOND JUSTICE in its BEST OF 2010, alongside titles
by Scott Turrow, Ted Dekker, Steven James and Brad Thor.

Many of Graham's readers blame him for sleepless nights, arriving to work late,
neglected dishes and family members, and not allowing them to put the book
down.

Josh grew up in Brooklyn, NY
where he lived for the better part of 30 years. He holds a Bachelor and
Master's Degree and went on to earn his doctorate from Johns
Hopkins University.
During his time in Maryland, he
taught as a professor at Shepherd College (WV), Western
Maryland College,
and Columbia Union College (MD).

Today he lives with his beautiful wife and children on the West Coast.

Sign
up for exclusive updates, interviews, and to be entered for giveaways by
subscribing to Josh's newsletter: www.joshua-graham.com/GIA

New York Timesbestselling
author Joshua Graham returns with a new thriller, Latent Image: A Xandra
Carrick Thriller.

At the height of President Jennifer Bradley’s inaugural
parade, a bomb detonates, followed by shots from a sniper’s rifle. She survives
despite the numerous casualties including the Chief White House photographer.
The authorities apprehend the only surviving suspect, but before they can
interrogate him, he dies mysteriously while recovering in the hospital.

In an effort to hunt down those responsible and prevent
future assassination attempts, Special Agent Wade Masterson of the Secret
Service recruits photojournalist Xandra Carrick for a dual-role position as the
President’s Photographer and clandestine assistant operative.

Xandra’s uncanny gift of second-sight through the lens of a
camera thrusts her straight into the center of a deadly terrorist plot that
runs far deeper than anyone in the intelligence community ever imagined.

But she may already be too late.

In a tale of vengeance, honor and sacrifice, Xandra must
draw upon all she has to stop an insidious plot which threatens to bring the
country to its knees with a biological weapon that will decimate the nation’s
population.

For More Information

IN
THE CROSSHAIRS OF THE SNIPER’S SCOPE the target shifted in and out of view. The
motorcade drifted down Pennsylvania Avenue, Secret Service agents flanking its
side, while Vice President Phillip Marsden and his wife Gwen waved to the
cheering crowd on either side of the street behind the cold 16-gauge steel
tubing of the barricades.

Neither
of them was the target.

The
sniper swung his scope back to the west, where the glare of the sun blinded him
momentarily. He grunted, blinked and reestablished his view. The cold January
wind bit at his bare fingers as he felt the trigger and anticipated the
diversionary strike his partner would unleash half a block away.

Tuning
out the trumpet strains of marching bands, the steady drum beats, and the
crowd’s applause, he initiated a silent countdown just as Jennifer Bradley, the
nation’s newly re-elected president strode past the designated spot.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

We’re thrilled to be talking to Moreva Tehi from Roxanne
Bland’s, the Moreva of Astoreth. It is a pleasure to have her with us
today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Moreva Tehi.How old are you and what do you do for a
living?

I’m twenty-seven years old. That’s in my years, not yours.
In your years, I’m about thirty-six. I’m not sure what you mean by “for a
living,” but I can tell you what I do. I’m a moreva—that’s a priestess—in
Astoreth’s Temple. Astoreth is our
Goddess of Love. She’s also my grandmother. I work in the Temple
as a scientist and a healer. I search for cures for various ailments—right now,
I’m working on a cure for red fever—and I minister to sick Temple
workers.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable
features?

My hair. I have hair like the gods. It’s snow-white, long
and curly, almost coiled. With my blue-violet skin—like the gods—it really
stands out. I’m always mistaken for a god, from a distance, anyway.

Where do you go when you are angry?

Well, right now I’m staying in a village called Mjor, and
there’s small Temple there. So I
either go to the Temple and dance,
or I go to my lab. Dancing—giving myself a good, hard workout—clears my mind
and helps me center myself. Working in the lab does pretty much the same thing.
It allows me to concentrate on whatever it is I’m doing, instead of my anger.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

Spending the morning in my lab, and the after midday collecting herbs and other medicinal
plants with Teger. He’s the Laerd—chief—of Mjor. I’ve broken my morevic vows by
falling in love with him, and there’s going to be a heavy price to pay for
that. But Teger’s my world. I love hiking up to the ridge with him to gather
skagwort. There’s a meadow up there, and its bright purple grass with its
yellow wildflowers is so pretty. And it’s peaceful. All my cares just seem to
float away.

If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what
would that be?

My height. I’m short. And everyone is taller than me, even
the workers at the Temple. And in
Mjor they’re really tall, though not as tall as the gods. Anyway, Mjorans are
about seven feet or more. I get a crick in my neck from looking up all the
time. *Smiles* The first time Teger and I had an argument, I grabbed a chair
and stood on it, because my neck had started to hurt. He laughed, and then I
started laughing, and the argument was over.

Who is your best friend?

Teger, of course.

Do you have children?

No. Morevas aren’t permitted to have children. But if my
plan works—if I survive—I’ll be released from Astoreth’s service and then Teger
and I can have as many children as we want.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew
up?

I wanted to be an astronomer, but though I was good at it,
my real talent was for healing. The way our Temple
operates is that a morev is assigned to the work that makes the best use of his
or her talents. My best talent is healing, so I’m a healer.

What is your most treasured possession?

My mother’s harp. I never knew her—she died soon after I was
born—and her harp is all I have of her. I was told she was the best singer and
harpist in the Temple.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you
do today?

Considering what I’ve done, that may happen. But I’d spend
every precious moment with Teger. Maybe drive into the mountains, swim in one
of its lakes, lounge on the grass, play...anything that involves him.

About the Author

Roxanne Bland grew up in Washington, D.C.,
where she discovered strange and wonderful new worlds through her local public
library and bookstores. These and other life experiences have convinced her
that reality is highly overrated. Ms. Bland lives in Rosedale, Maryland with
her Great Dane, Daisy Mae.

Moreva Tehi, scientist, healer, priestess
of the Goddess of Love and three-quarters god, is a bigot. She hates the hakoi
who are the Temple’s slaves. When she misses an important ritual because the
enslaved hakoi are participants, her grandmother, the Goddess Astoreth,
punishes her by exiling her for a year from her beloved southern desert home to
the far north village of Mjor in the Syren Perritory, (where the hakoi are
free) to steward Astoreth’s landing beacon. But Astoreth forbids her from
taking with her scientific research on red fever, a devastating scourge that
afflicts the hakoi. She does so, anyway.

The first Mjoran she meets is Laerd Teger,
the hakoi chief of the village, who appears to hate her. She also meets Hyme,
the hakoi village healer, and much to Moreva Tehi’s surprise, they form a fast
friendship. This friendship forces her to set upon a spiritual journey to
confront her bigotry. While doing so, she falls in love with Laerd Teger, who
returns her love. She eventually has a revelation about the meaning of love,
and rids herself of her bigotry. And she develops a cure for red fever, and is
the first healer to do so.

But there is a price for her love for
Laerd Teger, and that is her certain execution by the Goddess Astoreth upon her
return home because she has broken her sacred vows. But then, through Laerd
Teger, she learns a terrible secret about her gods, that they are not gods at
all, but aliens, and rather than being part god, she is part alien. Her world
destroyed, she turns on Laerd Teger for showing her the truth. They eventually
reconcile. But there is still the problem about her love for Laerd Teger.
Astoreth will know what she has done and will execute her. She formulates a
plan, involving the erasure of her memory, in which she will bargain for her
life by giving Astoreth the formula for red fever. Astoreth agrees. For
breaking her vows and disobeying a direct order not to take her red fever
research to Mjor, Astoreth strips her of her morevic status and exiles her
again to Mjor. Back in Mjor, she recovers her memory and sends the red fever
formula to Astoreth. Now freed from the constraints of being a Moreva, Tehi and
Teger embark on a new life together.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

We’re thrilled to be talking to Adalynn Maxwell from
Courtney Kristel, Beautifully
Shattered. It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Pimp
That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Adalynn. How old are you and what do you do for a
living?

I’m almost
twenty-five and unemployed until things fall into place. I was working at Malcara
Enterprises, but I realized that I wanted to follow my dreams, and marketing
wasn’t it.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable
features?

Anyone would say my violet eyes that I got from my mom,
Quinn. My eyes are always the first thing someone comments on. My favorite
thing about them is that Jax can describe them perfectly to me when I refuse to
open them in the mornings.

What would I love the most about you?

Hmm... that’s a tough one. Hopefully, my ability to love
fully. If you’re in my inner circle, which is tiny, I’ll do anything for you.
Once you make it into my heart, I’ll love you forever, fight your battles with
you, and be by your side whenever you need me. I love my friends for who they
are, I never judge them for their past, and encourage them to be the best that
they can be. Unless it’s Connor, then there’s no hope with him.

What would I hate the most about you?

My serious self-blame. I’m alive, still breathing, but some
days it’s hard to remember why I’m here and why I survived the car accident.
When I’m having one of those days, you’ll hate me because I’ll make it easy for
you to do so by pushing you away. Or how Connor jokingly put it last night at
dinner, I’m a flight risk. Luckily for me, Jax didn’t take his joke seriously,
me on the other hand... lets just say I’m still thinking about Connor’s joke.

Where do you go when you are angry?

The pool, the ocean, any large amount of water would do as
long as I’m under the surface, would have been my answer because the silence
soothes me. I used to think that the water was the only place that I could let
go of everything that didn’t matter and hold onto the one person who will
always matter. But now things have changed. I finally have Jax. Whenever I’m
angry I turn to him, my light, my best friend, my soulmate, and everything else
floats away.

What makes you laugh out loud?

The cries of my enemies. Just kidding. Connor, there’s never
a dull moment with him. He can turn anyone’s day around. It’s part of his
unique charm. I also love when he gets Harper riled up because she tends to
toss any near drink into his face and each time he’s surprised she did that.

What is your most treasured possession?

My memories. It took me a long time to find those memories I
forced myself to forget, and I’ll never let that happen again. Nothing, can
ever be that bad where I won’t want to remember. It’s hard, remembering
everything I’ve blocked out for the past six years, but it’s nothing compared
to what Jax has been going through. He didn’t forget, he did the opposite. He
had to remember because I wouldn’t allow myself, he lived through the pain by
himself because I couldn’t handle it at the time. He’s my strength.

What is your greatest fear?

Not being enough. No matter how hard I try to push it down,
to ignore it, it’s always there. I watched my parents and little sister die
right before my eyes, that’s something I’ll never be able to get over. And it’s
because of the accident, that I doubt myself, constantly. Why did I survive?
There’s moments where the world stands still, and I’m pulled under the weight
of the guilt, for surviving, for giving up, and then the world spins again. I’m
able to breathe, but I’m left haunted. Wondering if I’ll ever be enough for the
people in my life now. If I wasn’t enough to keep the promise to my mom and
take care of Hadley, then how can I possibly be enough for the people in my
life now?

Are you a loner or do you prefer to surround yourself with
friends?

Today, friends, but if you ask me again tomorrow, that could
change to being a loner. I’ve always enjoyed my own company, and always sink
back into myself when I’m feeling depressed. But now, Jax doesn’t let me. If I
thought he was there for me in the past, that’s nothing compared to how he is
now. Just a smile from him makes my day better and keeps the darkness at bay. I
have the best friends in the world too. I couldn’t imagine reverting back to my
loner days like how I was the past few years. I come out of my shell little by
little every time I hang out with my bestie, Harper. And I’m finally seeing the
happy person I used to be before the accident. Those dark days are behind me,
and I look forward to each new memory I make with the people in my life now,
and not focusing on what was stolen from us.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew
up?

Ironically I wanted to be a doctor. If you know Jax’s
childhood, then you’re probably wondering, what the heck Addie right? But it’s
because of Jax’s childhood that made that idea pop into my head. I wanted to
protect children that we’re abused just like him. Then I realized I could do
that in a different way, because I realized that not every case ends with the
child surviving. And that would have taken a toll on me. So then I decided I
wanted to open up a pool and help underprivileged children learn how to swim,
maybe open a camp or something. Somewhere in those dreams were opening a
bakery, or being a teacher. But like everything else, those dreams disappeared.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you
do today?

I would spend the day with my family; Logan, Connor, Harper,
and Jax. It wouldn’t matter what we were doing, as long as we were together and
Jax was holding my hand and stealing kisses at least every four minutes. Lies, every
other second with the kisses. At night it would be just Jax and I. Together, as
one, until we both fell asleep in each other’s arms. If I was going to die, I
wouldn’t want to be alone, I would want Jax to hold me, whispering in my ear
that it was going to be all okay, reminding me that we would be together again.
I would want his voice to be the last thing I ever heard.

About
the Author

Courtney Kristel
graduated from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, but she
couldn't shake her true passion for writing. She's currently working on the
second novel of the Beautifully Series, Beautifully Mended. When she
isn't creating stories to share with the world, Courtney usually has a book in
her hands or is searching for new music to add to her writing
playlist.

What
would you do if your world fell apart right before your eyes? If everything you
held dear was stolen before you had a chance to say goodbye, would you give up
or keep fighting? Adalynn Maxwell didn't decide to give up. She was robbed of
her choice.

After
years of therapy, Adalynn finally wants to move on and her brother's sexy best
friend Jax lures her further out of her shell. But she doesn’t understand his
game and he changes the rules at every turn, making her fall into the waiting
arms of the mysterious Doctor Kohen Daniels, whom she can’t seem to avoid.
She’s terrified of trusting him, but something about him makes her want to bare
her soul.

Adalynn is
desperate for that all-consuming love she reads about, but doesn't believe she
deserves it. Her desperation to prove to Jax that she isn’t a little girl
anymore may ruin her forever. One wrong decision can change her entire future.
She has one last choice to make, but will it be ripped away from her like
everything else? Will she pay the ultimate price?

For More Information

I want to pretend to be the confident
person I used to be, but I’m not her, I can’t pretend. Not even wearing a mask
can transform me into a different person. When the song ends, I thank the
stranger for the dance when I feel him behind me. My whole body breaks into
chills. I know if I turn around, I will come face-to-face with Jax. I’m not
ready, but my body doesn’t want to listen to me anymore. I slowly turn around
toward the one person that I want more than anything.

I’m taken aback when it’s not Jax. This
is a new stranger. The man staring intensely down at me wears a blood red mask
that covers his entire face, except for his lustful lips. He looks like the
devil; the mask even has horns at the top. I blink a few times, expecting this
devil mask to disappear and a simple black Casanova mask to take its
place.

Automatically, I take his offered
hand.

Mr. Secretive pulls me close so there
isn’t any space between our bodies. I can feel his hard muscles underneath his
tux. My breathing has become embarrassingly noticeable, and I’m pretty positive
that my skin is on fire when his hands start to roam my bare arms. I look up at
his face, trying to see his eyes, but with the lack of light on the dance
floor, it’s impossible to tell the color.

I’m so confused, everything in me tells
me this is Jax. He’s the only one who can ignite my skin, that makes my whole
body burn. But my mind can’t process why he’s in a different mask.

Because
this isn’t him. This is Mr. Secretive.

He still hasn’t said anything and I don’t
want to break the spell he has me under. He continues to grind his groin into
my pelvis with the beat of the music, making it painfully obvious how aroused
he is. By the pool of moisture gathering in my panties, it’s safe to say I’m in
the same boat as him. The song is almost over when I get a quick whiff of his
cologne.

And I know without a doubt who’s behind
the mask.

I shouldn’t have doubted myself. I knew
it was Jax before I turned around. I know him. My body knows him. I can feel
him even from across the room. It’s as if my body, my soul, wants to haunt me
forever. To torture me some more by reminding me what I can never have.

Jax.

Reaching up, I thread my hands through
his velvety soft hair. I pull his head down to me and press my lips to his. Jax
releases his hold on my hips to cup my face as he deepens the kiss. I meet his
tongue eagerly, loving the taste of him. I nibble on his lip and he growls into
my mouth, turning me on even more. He’s the one to pull back first. I smile
when I see he’s as breathless as I am. We’ve both just run an imaginary
marathon.

The smoldering look he gives me makes me
shiver. I’ve never wanted anyone as desperately as I want him right here, right
now. Without thinking long enough to talk myself out of it, I grip his hand and
lead him off the dance floor. If there wasn’t people everywhere I would be
sprinting with him to the nearest closed door. I weave us through the crowd and
out to the hallway. I pull him along while I find somewhere for us to be
alone.

The
first door we come to is locked. Same thing for the second one. We both sigh in
relief when the third door opens. As I tug him in after me, my heel catches on
the rug and I start to fall, but his grip on my hand saves me. He holds me to
him as if he’s afraid to let me go. Spinning me around, he roughly slams his
body into mine, banging my back into the wall. His hands are everywhere.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

We’re thrilled to be talking to
Brandy Chambers from Patricia Yager Delagrange’s Moon Over Alcatraz.
It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview,
Brandy. How old are you and what do you do for a living?

I’m thirty years old and I’m an
author. I have one book that’s published and I’m working on my next novel.

Can you tell us about one of your
most distinguishable features?

One of the features I like about my
looks is my long auburn hair that I can put up in a ponytail when I run. It
flows a bit past my shoulders and is slightly wavy. I have a habit of curling
the sides behind my ears so I often snap it up in a rubber band so I don’t
fiddle with it.

What would I love the most about
you?

I’m a kind person. I don’t like to
participate in idle gossip and putting people down. I enjoy talking to my close
friend and neighbor Cecilia about what’s going on in our neighborhood but that’s
because I like the couples and children who live on Lauren
Drive in Alameda.
We have block parties and I hosted two in Moon Over Alcatraz - a summer
party and a Christmas party. They’re always fun and a good way to catch up with
my block friends.

What would I hate the most about
you?

Probably the fact that sometimes
I’m not assertive enough. To those people who are assertive, I can be
irritating because I don’t stand up for myself. I should have been more honest
and forthcoming with my husband Weston after our baby died. I should have
insisted we go to counseling together. Maybe things would have been different.

Where do you go when you are angry?

When I’m angry I put on my running
shoes and I just jam to the beach, always ending up at my favorite coffee house
to have a latte and people-watch after my run.

What makes you laugh out loud?

I like to listen to people’s
stories about something they did that was corny and kind of embarrassing, but
harmless. The ability to laugh at yourself and tell the tales to your friends,
to me, is endearing.

What is in your refrigerator right
now?

A package of tortillas, a block of
sharp cheddar cheese, a head of broccoli, and a six-pack of caffeine-free Coke.

What is your most treasured
possession?

The rocking cradle that Edward
purchased for my daughter. It has a device that plugs into the wall and rocks
the cradle so that she can sleep easier.

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is that something
is going to hurt my daughter. After losing a child, the second child feels like
a precious piece of delicate glass that might break easily. I can get a bit
overprotective where she’s involved.

Are you a loner or do you prefer to
surround yourself with friends?

I need my alone time because I’m an
author. Thankfully, people know that and don’t come to my door unannounced
because once I’m in the rhythm, I don’t like to be interrupted.

About the Author:

Born and raised in the San
Francisco Bay Area, Patricia attended St. Mary’s College, studied her junior
year at the University of Madrid, received a B.A. in Spanish at UC Santa
Barbara then went on to get a Master’s degree in Education at Oregon State
University. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Alameda,
across the bay from San Francisco,
along with two very large chocolate labs, Annabella and Jack. Her Friesian
horse Maximus lives in the Oakland
hills in a stall with a million dollar view.

Brandy Chambers was looking forward
to the birth of her first child. She and Weston move from San
Francisco to the small town of Alameda
to start a family, she’s writing her second book, and Weston

has a fantastic
job working on the Oakland-San Francisco
Bay Bridge
project. Having this baby would make her already-wonderful life perfect.

But when the baby dies after a
difficult birth, Brandy’s perfect life blows up in her face. Stricken with
grief, she and Weston pull apart. This new distance leads them both to
disaster. Not until a chance encounter with her high school friend, Edward
Barnes, does Brandy pull herself together. Brandy and Weston agree to recommit
to each other, striving to forgive infidelity and recreate their previous
existence.

Everything is once again going
according to plan—until Brandy discovers she’s pregnant. While she struggles to
cope with this new obstacle, Edward Barnes returns to town and discovers she’s
having a baby, while Weston is torn between his love for his wife and his anger
at her betrayal. Can Brandy manage to keep her marriage to Weston together?
Will Edward be a part of Brandy’s life if she and Weston separate?

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

We’re thrilled to be talking to Rath from Piers Platt’s Rath’s Deception. It is a pleasure
to have him with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Rath.How old are you and what do you do for a
living?

What is this? Are you guys cops?No?You better not be. I’m twenty-two, but I can appear any age I
want…thanks to the facial implants the Guild gave me. Any age, and any face, I
can copy it. It’s a useful skill for my line of work. Which is killing people.
50 people, and then, per my contract, I get a BIG payday.

What would I love the most about you?

I’m a survivor – I don’t always make good decisions under
fire, but I’m usually smart enough to work my way out of a jam. And I’m pretty
funny – I have a dry sense of humor, which is helpful when you spend a lot of
time doing…unsavory…things. Things I’d rather not think about much.

What is your greatest fear?

Aside from getting killed on a mission? I would have to say
that is fear #1. After that, not making it to fifty kills. I promised my
brother I’d get off the streets, that I’d make something of myself. But this
job isn’t exactly what I imagined it would be.

Are you a loner or do you prefer to surround yourself
with friends?

I’m not allowed to have friends. I’m not allowed to tell
anyone what I do…so I’m a loner, but it’s not really by choice. My closest
companion is my avatar, Rebecca. I hang out with her in the simulator when I’m
not on missions. She’s fun, but…it gets old.

Someone is secretly in love with you.Who is it and how do you feel about that?

I think you have the wrong guy. I make it a point to be
invisible, so if someone were in love with me, that would be…a problem. For me,
and them. What did you say their name was again?

What is your most treasured possession?

My Forge. That thing has saved my ass more times than I can
count. It’s a backpack with a 3D printer, and it can make anything I need for a
mission. Weapons, clothes, equipment…you name it. Never leave home without it.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would
you do today?

Figure out a way not to die?Look, I’ve said too much already.Thanks for having me, but I have a spaceliner to catch.

About the Author

Piers Platt is
the New York Times bestselling author of "Combat and Other
Shenanigans," a memoir of his year-long deployment to Iraq as a tank and scout platoon leader. Piers
grew up in Boston, but spent most of his childhood in various boarding
schools, including getting trained as a classical singer at a choir school for
boys. He joined the Army in 2002, and spent four years on active duty.

When he's not writing or spending time with his
lovely wife and daughter, Piers works as a strategy consultant in New York city.

On the cut-throat
streets of Tarkis, orphaned teens like Rath end up jailed … or dead. So
when the shadowy Janus Group offers Rath a chance to earn riches
beyond his wildest dreams, he seizes it. But the Janus Group is as
ruthless as the elite assassins it controls. Rath will have to
survive their grueling, off-world training, and fulfill all fifty kills in
his contract before a single cent comes his way. And ending
so many lives comes with a price Rath can’t anticipate. It’ll certainly
cost him what’s left of his innocence. It may well cost him his life.